BARN FIND(S)

I've heard about this, even read about it, but until now, never experienced it.

A friend of mine took me to lunch last week and sadly relayed the story of his Dad (mid-to-late 70's & also a friend of mine) displaying signs of Alzheimer's. There's obviously a lot more to the story but the gist of it is he & the family are coming together to make the best of the situation & care for Dad. Great folks all, with each family member charged with specific "to-do's" for Dad.

One of the chores assigned to my friend (and what he wants help with) and with Dad's blessing, is to see to the disposition of various "toys". A lifelong car buff, he's built everything from a COBRA Kit Car to multiple street Rods, as well as restoring an eclectic variety of Fords. All gone now.

Or so I thought. A trip to the barn revealed several vehicles in various stages of restoration/development. All covered in dust & "stuff", some further along then others. It was fascinating to see! Each in it's own bay, lined up side-by-side were:

1. '30 Ford Model A , chopped, rumble seat, all metal body (except '32 Grill) w/289 engine. Once featured in a Hot Rod magazine. Absolutely beautiful. Now needs TLC, some assembly & cleanup.

2. '56 Ford Fairlane 292(?) stock, automatic, two-tone green & white. Some tinkering I think, dual exhaust exiting thru rear bumper, some chrome on the engine. Told it runs.

3. '53 Ford Convertible, stripped down to the metal with 5.0 Ford engine. Street rod in the making.

4. "72 Mercedes 350 SL Burgundy. Told it runs.

So there you have it. I'm returning this weekend to take some pictures. Truth be told, I'm not sure what the next step will be so any thoughts, interest or ideas appreciated.

Well, if nobody near has much interest, I'd just put them on ebay.

My dad had a 76 alfa romeo that he bought new. It was a bit of a lemon, and turned into a 30 year argument with my mom. "I won't get rid of it until I can buy a new one" he'd say. To which she would retort "well, we're not buying another, unless there's a dealer in town!" (sheer insanity!) So it sat in the garage, immobile, for 30 years. After dad passed away, all the family could figure out was to call the junk yard. Even they didn't want it. "Well, I'll come get it, but I can't give you any money for it" the man on the phone said.

I spoke up and said "before we give it away for free, let me have a shot at selling it on ebay". So that's what we did. In the end, I got a bunch of bids and sold it for $2K. The buyer drove 8 hrs each way to pick it up. My mother was speechless! He was REALLY tickled, and was a life-long alfa fan, having owned and restored a dozen or more. I would have given it to him for free, just to know that a guy so motivated and interested in it, would be giving it a good home.

Same story with one of my dad's studebakers (it even had the original, factory spare tire!). We shipped it from Spokane to L.A. to a collector (who promised to give me a ride in his Edsel, if I ever stop by!).

Take excellent photos. Take representative photos of problem/damage areas. Be as clear, complete and precise with the description as possible, and honest about the unknowns. Buyer pays shipping. Someone will be overjoyed to buy it and you're practically guaranteed to be selling it to someone who really will complete the project. Many auto shippers offer door to door service, running or not. http://www.autotransexperts.com/

Anyway, sounds like everyone's on board with disposing of the cars in your case, but still, you gotta frame it like that - motivated buyers will care for it in a way that dear old dad would approve of. Priceless.

My dad still has my great grandfathers first car. It's a 1942 Ford sedan with a flathead V8 in it. It hasn't run since probably 1975 and was shuttled from one resting spot to the next. Its all there, 100% original.....which is kind of a weird one. Due to the 1942 timeline of assembly, it was one of the last vehicles rolled off the assembly line before switching over to military vehicles for the war effort. Because of this, some of the trim is polished, some is chrome, some is painted. Its kinda of a weird hodge podge of parts thrown together from what they had left. My Dad retired last October and wants its restoration to be his #1 priority.......I'm really hoping he gets around to it because I would love to help, but realistically it will probably end up being my retirement project

Back on topic....very cool story Mike. Can't wait to see pics

Not sure I would class this as a true "barn find" in the true sense of the term. But that doesn't matter. I have been involved in restoring cars, building high performance cars and race cars all my life. Finding something like this can be a good thing. Or a headache that never ends.

The 30 model A is very interesting if the provenance is accurate. Beyond that, A model street rods are not worth all that much compared to the 30's siblings that followed them. All depends on condition and function. Which is not all that good from the description. Again, more on this being a "feature" car could make it worth many times the normal amount.

The Mercedes can be a nice car, there is interest in them. Expensive to restore. Even in good shape, they are $15,000 cars.

The 53 Ford is just a project. Not as popular a starting point as the "shoebox" earlier model. Convertibles scare away most street rodders. Sometimes the work already done actually reduces value. Depends on quality, fit, and expected end result.

The 56 Fairlane would be the one I might want to make a project out of. Unless it is a 4 door. Those amount to little more than parts cars unfortunately. These can make good cruisers with a modern suspension, brakes, engine and transmission.

If something really attracts you, that is ok. But unless the model A has some provenance that can be proved, these type of cars too often end up just like they are.....sitting and not finished. Not worth paying a professional to do the work as the finished value is a fraction of restoration costs. So, these must be looked at as something the OWNER can complete on a budget. If you have the tools, experience, and time then it becomes worth more to you than its "value" when completed.

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My dad had a 76 alfa romeo that he bought new. It was a bit of a lemon fine and accurate representation of their best work from the time period, and turned into a 30 year argument with my mom.

 

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fixed your typo

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My dad had a 76 alfa romeo that he bought new. It was a bit of a lemon, a fine and accurate representation of their best work from the time period, and turned into a 30 year argument with my mom.

 

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fixed your typo

 

Fixed your fix.

Drove down the same local road for years noticing large ( 4 foot diameter) cast iron flywheels in an open garage.

Decided to stop one day and meet the owner, he had no idea what he had sitting there. Did some asking on the engine forums discovered it dated to around 1890's or so.

Upon his death his widow called and asked for advice on selling it, we put together some pictures and descriptions and she posted it on e-bay. It went for over $30k or 60 times my engine budget.

Barn finds are fun...

Drove down the same local road for years noticing large ( 4 foot diameter) cast iron flywheels in an open garage.

Decided to stop one day and meet the owner, he had no idea what he had sitting there. Did some asking on the engine forums discovered it dated to around 1890's or so.

Upon his death his widow called and asked for advice on selling it, we put together some pictures and descriptions and she posted it on e-bay. It went for over $30k or 60 times my engine budget.

Barn finds are fun...

What was it?

A Lambert, built in Anderson Indiana circa 1896.

A Lambert, built in Anderson Indiana circa 1896.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lambert_Gas_and_Gasoline_Engine_Company

1895:

A Lambert, built in Anderson Indiana circa 1896.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lambert_Gas_and_Gasoline_Engine_Company

 

 

1895:

And HD thinks Torque is King....

A lot of Monkey Motion going on there, absolute mechanical works of art.

Did i mention heavy? I have a 1920 6hp Fairbanks Morse that weighs in around 500 pounds, the piston and connecting rod weigh 22 pounds alone.

If you are out riding and have a chance to stop at an engine show you should.

Portland Indiana - August 22-25 http://tristategasenginetractor.com/index.php is one of the biggest, but many Fairs have a little section roped off where these machine are demonstrated. Stop, look, ask questions